HIGHLIGHTS

The vibrant and vivacious festival of Holi is here! The festival of colours is celebrated all across India on the day of full moon in the month of Phalguna which is from February to March. Holi is celebrated by throwing water and colours at each other while dancing away to music. Surely, Holi is one of the most fun-filled festivals in India, but it comes with its share of cons which include skin and hair damage because of the colours used which may have chemicals and other skin damaging ingredients.

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Markets today are flooded with colours which often stay on the skin and hair for an entire week. And no lotions, creams, soaps or shampoos are effective enough to remove them. What's worse is that wiping off these colours from the skin might end up in unwanted marks and pimples.

So here are a few tips which can help in preventing skin damage during Holi:

1. You must buy organic and herbal colours. If the market has colours with harmful chemicals, there are also their organic and herbal counterparts. These colours are comparatively less harmful and are also easy to wipe off. Agrees dermatologist Dr Kiran Lohia, who recommends only herbal colours during Holi.

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2. As part of hair protection, she recommends one should wear hat while playing Holi. "I always recommend my patients to oil their hair with coconut oil before playing. Tie up your hair and put a hat on while playing. So most of the colour will be on the hat. Some colour might even enter the hat. But the oil in hair will prevent colour from getting into hair strands," she says.

3. For the protection of skin, Dr Kiran recommends applying petroleum jelly. "Firstly, apply sun block on your face. And then you can either apply a balm or petroleum jelly on the surface of your skin. This creates a greasy barrier on the skin. The colour would not reach your skin and will only be on this greasy barrier," she explains.

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4. When you bathe afterwards, you should try and wash off the colour immediately, says Dr Kiran. "That's all we can do. If you follow all these rules, there are very less chances of any skin damage," she concludes.

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5. Experts also recommend that one should avoid scratching the skin surface. In case of itching, wipe
off the colour immediately.

6. Avoid eating with coloured hands. You might end up consuming a lot of chemicals in just one bite.

(Dr Kiran Lohia is a Dermatologist and Medical Director at Lumiere Dermatology, Delhi)

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.​

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